Carbon wins big at Eastern tourney

Carbon High's Ryan Rasmussen pushes the ball up court in the Dino win over Fruita this weekend. The Dinos are now 2-2.

A trip to Colorado was just what the doctor ordered. After a 61-51 loss to Grand Junction on Thursday evening, the Dinos got on track and beat Fruita, 56-51 on Friday and finished up with a 59-46 win over Palisade on Saturday.

Thursday's game had the Dinos jump out strong against a good Grand Junction squad. They found themselves on top 12-5 at the end of the first quarter. They let their opponents back in the game by allowing them to score 20 in the second quarter. In the third Grand Junction out scored the Dinos 18-8 and that 10 point differential proved to be the difference in the final score.

Joey Keller led the offense with 18 points. Ryan Rasmussen stuck in 11, nine of his points came from the long ball.

"We had the lead going into the half, but our defense struggled in the third and we just never got it going again," remarked Coach Ted Bianco.

Not letting the 0-2 start worry them too much, Carbon settled down to business in their game against Fruita. This time they did not have a let down. Each quarter they outscored their opponent with the exception of the fourth. That quarter was close as well and the Dinos posted their first win of the season.

Keller was the go to guy again with 21 points. Tysen Stevens stepped it up with 16 and hit a pair of threes in the process. Bianco credited the defense for the win.

With a victory under their belt the Dinos came into the Saturday game with confidence. They out scored Palisade by 10 in the first quarter and never looked back. Again it was good defense that let the Dinos dominate their opponent.

Keller and Stevens led the Dinos with 13 points a piece to secure their second win of the season and even up their record at 2-2.

Bianco summed up the weekend by saying, "We gained some valuable experience against some good teams that I hope will carry with us through the season."

The team will put their winning streak on the line at Union this Tuesday night and then will head to Emery to play in a tournament this weekend.